Digital Landscape in Australia

PROSPECTS

PCs remain dominant despite the strong emergence of mobile devices and platforms

2018 saw PCs remain the preferred device among Australian digital consumers. The main reason for this is that PCs are perceived as the most secure devices for engaging with e-commerce, especially in comparison with mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.

Mobile devices to become increasingly important

As mentioned above, mobile devices are set to overtake PCs as the preferred devices for Australian digital consumers before the end of the forecast period. This is mainly due to the proliferation of smartphones among the population.

High connectivity to spur growth over the forecast period

Australia continues to rank very highly for home internet connectivity in Euromonitor International’s Digital Connectivity Index. The previously slow pace of expansion of Australia’s previously underdeveloped national broadband network was a major point of public debate for much of the review period as constant restructuring and redevelopment consistently delayed the completion of a comprehensive high-speed broadband network covering the whole of Australia’s vast and often very sparsely populated territory.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Afterpay emerges as the leader in a new form of online consumer credit

Afterpay is a payments service provider and a developer of software and infrastructure that enables merchants in retailing and other industries to widen their consumer bases by making it possible for customers to defer payment for the goods and services they offer through their websites. Afterpay offers consumers numerous advantages, mainly access to credit without the need to go through the traditional credit application processes, while Afterpay applications are usually cost-free and most of the credit on offer is interest-free.

zipPay continues to present an alternative to Afterpay

zipPay offers a similar service to Afterpay and its business model is similar, in that it generates revenues principally from charging retailers merchant fees and late payment fees from consumers, rather than charging borrowers upfront fees or interest. As with Afterpay, zipPay has benefited from its capital markets success after a highly publicised IPO and like Afterpay, zipPay has found favour among a young and connected consumer base that prefers its platform to traditional forms of consumer credit such as lay-by, hire-purchase, store cards or credit cards.

Sezzle enters the arena to challenge Afterpay and Zip Pay

Another buy now-pay, later app Sezzle, is set to launch its IPO on the ASX in the near future. This is a sure sign of increasingly intense competition in the sector, which is in turn a sign that the Afterpay business model is paying off.

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